Production of rubber from poinsettia serum



PatentedQct. 11, 1 938 2,133,-o 4o a V J [PRODUCTION OF RUBBERc-romsnrrm'snam I 4 Sia sa.

- No Drawing-"ap lication February 21, 1935, Serial No 7,638 1 v a 25 ofthis country. Insofar :as Iam aware, no one hasheretofore discoveredordeveloped anysource of rubber or latex which. can compete ;successfu1-1y with'the importedproduct. In fact, rubber manufacturers havepracticallyfabandoned the idea of developing a heartyplant or shrubindigenous to this country having enough latex in its serum to justifyits exploitation; although small quantities of crude rubber havebeenproduced from the golden-rod and the guayule shrub.

As a result of years of study and investigations, I have discovered avariety of poinsettia which produces a serum containing a highpercentage of latex This plant grows in abundance in the state ofGuerrero, Mexico, and reaches an average maximum height of from six toeight feet. Its leaves, at maturity, are approximately five inches wideand eight inches long. The stalk grows to a maximum diameter of aboutone and oneeighth inches. Otherwise, it is quite similar to themultitude of varieties of this plant which grow in the southern part ofthe United States. For the sake of identification I shall call it thelarge-leaf Guerrero poinsettia. My experimentshave demonstrated that its'serum contains from sixty per- 40 cent to sixty seven percent ofrecoverable latex. I have also discovered that the serum from this plantquickly becomes rancid after it is extracted and exposed to the air andthis destroys the latex fAs amatter oi fact the latex is prac- V ticallydestroyed within asingle day. In accordance with my invention I preservethe serum indefinitely, so that it can. be shipped orstored in drums orcontainers and delivered to central coagulation plants forfinaltreatment. The serum is extracted from the harvested plants by. anyof the known methods, conveniently byreducing the stalks, stemsandleaves to a pulp and pressing r 32 I have .foundthat theserum can bepreserved indefinitely by adding simplev andinexpensive chemicals whichcan be partially recovered during the final stage of the treatment. Iprefer to'employ a preserving solution containing commercialgggbammonia; which prevents coagulation. For example, I make a solutioncontaining six parts, by

volume, of ammonia, one part,. byvolume, of sodium chloride and two.parts, by volume, 01' dextro-tartaric acid andadd about one and onegoeighth percent, by volume of this mixture or solution tothe Thenthefserum is thoroughly agitated Ior several nirlutes ina} suitablecontainer, This is donefimmediateiy after the serum is extracted andbefore 'it begins toil! turnrancid: The treated 'sserumiis then ready tobestored in tankspr put-in shippingcontainers gfor delivery. toaocoagulating planti-t TThC fammonia andpthe dextro-tartaric acidpreventany rancidity. -I-be1ieve that thedextro-tartaric acid 20 acts asa catalytic agent on the ammonia. It will preserve the serum even aftera part of the ammonia evaporates in an open container. The sodiumchloride is added at this stage so that it commingles thoroughly withthe latex and im- 25 parts toughness to the final product. This alsoincreases the tensile strength by as much as ten percent.

While the; preserved serum may be coagulated by the well known methodsof treating latex, I 30 prefer to employ a coagulant solution consistingof three parts, by volume, of acetic acid and one to two parts, byvolume, of formic acid. One

' percent to one and a quarter percent of this solution byvolume ismixed with the serum and the 5 serum is again slowly agitated until allof the latex 'coagulates into a plastic mass of uniform consistency Thecoagulated mass is then fed through smooth squeezing rolls to remove andreclaim the excess chemical'solution. It is re- 40 duced to sheet formby these rolls and is fed continuously through a cracking washer havingthree herringbone rolls. Sprays of warm water at a temperature ofapproximately 120 degrees Fahrv enheit are discharged on the sheets asthey pass 45 through the rolls. The rubber is thoroughly ground by thewashing rolls and the water removes the remaining chemicals. The rubberis then passed through corrugated sheeting rolls to convert it intofinal sheet form. It is then hungup 50 in drying rooms and exposed to a.temperature of degrees Fahrenheit to degrees'F'ahrenheit for a period offive-to seven days. It is then ready fer the market ascommercial cruderubber. I have found that crude rubber produced from u 15 tively lowcost. 'It is contemplated that. the;ac-.-

the particular serum has greater tensile strength, elasticity andelongation than crude rubber obtained from Hevea trees or other wellknown commercial sources, For example, tests of representative samplesof vulcanized rubber, made according to the same formula, have, shownthat this rubber has seventeen percent greater tearing Iriresistancithan that of rubberwmade f m a 5. In the art of producingcrude rubber, the 10 is known cbmmercially as fi latexsteps which'arecharacterized by extracting the From h foregoing description, it will 3391 Mserum from the large-leaf Guerrero poinsettia, p n that the improvedprocess redu th st and immediately mixing therewith approximately ofproduction to a minimuniIiiThe particular one and one-eighth percent byvolume a preservplants can be cultivated and grown aria-rem:ing'solution consisting of about six parts ammonia, one part sodiumchloride, and two parts dextro tartaric acid.

dextro-tartaric acid.

4. In the art of producing crude rubber, the steps which arecharacterized by extracting the serum from the large-leaf Guerreropoinsettia, and immediately mixing therewith a preserving solutionconsisting of ammonia, sodium chloride and dextra-tartaric acid;

tu'al cost of producing the crude rubber in u'an tity will be less thanfive cents-per poun Having thus explained the nature of my iriventionand one illustrative example of 'the' process with the expressunderstanding that it isfnot to be, construed as being'limited to strictconoformit'y therewith, what I claim and desire to secure by LettersPatent is: V V .7 V 1.'As' a commercial product, the serum of thearge-leaf Guerrero poin'settia preserved against ranciditywith apreserving agent containing commercial ammoniaand :a small quantity of:-sodium chloride V. I 2, As a commercial product, the serum of the 1large-leaf Guerrero poins'ettia preserved against .rancidity with apreserving solution consisting .ora small quantity of ammonia, sodiumchloride and dextra-tartaricacid; I

5 3. 'In the art ,of producinggcrude rubber,-the

frbmlarge-leaf Guerrero poinsettia, which is characterized by extractingthe serum; immediately adding approximately one and one-eighth percentby volume of a pres'erving'solution containing ammonia,.sodium chloride,and dextro-tartaric acid; transferring the preserved serum to acoagulating plant; adding'a coagulating solution containing acetic acidand formic acid; and then Jsque'ezing, washing, grinding, sheeting anddrying the product. J f

7.: In the art of producing crude rubber from the serum of large leafGuerrero poinsettia, that method of coagulating theserum which consistsin producing a coagulant solution composed of approximately three partsby volume of acetic "acid and one to two partsby volume of formic*acidrmixing approximately 1% by volume of V the solution With'theserum; and mixing the steps twhlch are characterized by extrac n themass until'the latex coagulates into a plastic mass 'serum from thelarge-leaf Guerrero poinsettia, ab'f uniform consjstency o Y andimmediatelyadding'theretoasmallquantity I i -I-IER1VLAN EVPITMAN.

of apreserving solution containing ammoniaand ;;""6;"I'hat 'method ofproducing crude rubber 7

